Killing the Composer
by BrDPirateMan
Summary: A reimagining of the final shootout scene between Neku and Joshua at the very end of the Reapers' Game, except the outcome is very different: Neku wins, and kills Joshua off for good. NOT YAOI.


**Killing the Composer  
><strong>by BrDPirateMan

The battle was over. Though the smoke had cleared and the defeated Conductor had vanished into nothing, the Room of Reckoning was a wreck.

The Reapers' Game was finally over. But… there were one or two worrying matters that needed settling.

In the ruined room stood a quartet of teenagers. One of them, the main victor of the epic fight, was a Player – Neku was his name. He had overcome insurmountable odds to defeat the many obstacles in his path, and he along with his treasured friends had come to the moment they had been so eagerly awaiting: their reincarnation. But things didn't go as well as they hoped, and they had found themselves at the mercy of the Composer himself, the mastermind behind the entire mess.

What was most shocking was that the Composer was actually one of his own partners who had assisted him during the Game. A boy named Joshua. He was a fussy, prissy and annoying one, but Neku had come to rely on him. To trust him.

But… what happened to that trust now?

The other two Players – friends of Neku's – could only watch helplessly as he confronted Joshua about the truth. Beat couldn't move. Neither could Shiki. They had been afflicted by some kind of binding spell and were motionless.

"I thought I found a friend I could relate to," growled Neku, trying to hide tears of rage. "But it was you! You killed me! You… You betrayed me!"

Joshua only chuckled at his reaction. As the Composer, he had regarded Shibuya as becoming increasingly inferior and stagnant, with its residents unable to live up to their own potential. When he voiced his discontent as well as his eagerness to shut down the city, his Conductor pleaded with him to give him a chance to improve it.

And so the bet between Composer and Conductor was born. If the Conductor won, Shibuya would remain safe and sound. But if it was the Composer's win, he'd erase it forever.

Joshua proved too cunning for the Conductor, and he won the bet. All that was left to do before wiping out the city was to take care of some unfinished business…

"That look on your face," sneered Joshua, "is so precious." He almost felt pity. Almost.

"You're a monster." Neku burned his glare right into his face. "I'm not your pawn, none of us are! And to think… you lied to me… You befriended me, but in the end it was all so you could accomplish your selfish goal!"

Joshua's tone turned serious, if only a bit. "Shibuya has no future. It is like a miasma, Neku. Like a fog, it will spread to the other cities and poison them… And soon the whole world will be affected, bogged down by mediocrity and… deadness."

"Are you blind? ! Shibuya is always changing! People's minds and creeds are always clashing with each other, and that's what makes the city so vibrant. I learned about that much during the Reapers' Game!"

"Hee hee… How naïve. But don't be stupid, Neku. They know they have the potential to make the city a better place, but they don't bother to tap into it. I wouldn't expect a common Player like you to understand something that only I can see, but that's the truth."

"If it's the truth, that's hard to believe!"

Joshua breathed an exasperated sigh, although his sick smile still remained. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a revolver. Neku recognized it… it was the very weapon used to rob him of his life, earning him a trip to the UG. A slight wince rattled his frame.

"Pick it up," said Joshua, tossing the gun at Neku's feet. "We're going to play one last Game."

"What are you talking about? !"

With silver hair dangling over his eyes, he produced his own gun, a revolver of an identical model. "This is a shootout, Neku. I'm going to count to ten, and we both shoot each other. If you win, you get to do whatever you want. If I do, however, I'll see to it that Shibuya is no more."

Neku shook his fist at Joshua. "Don't play freaking games with me, you piece of…!"

But the Composer only giggled some more. "You don't have a choice… After all, I've already taken your entry fee. You'd want your friends back now, don't you?" He jerked his head towards Beat and Shiki, who were watching the whole scene in a mixture of despair and suspense.

Shiki could be heard groaning in discomfort. "Neku… ugh…"

She was the reason Neku went through three weeks of hell. He had come to like her as a partner and a friend, so seeing her in such a state of distress maddened him. He gritted his teeth in rage.

"Fine." He bent over slowly, picking up the revolver. When he looked up, Joshua was already aiming at him, his face cool and calm, like he had everything under control.

"Better get ready," mocked Joshua. "Clock's ticking. One. Two…"

Neku's emotions were so many, as though they had been chopped up in a blender. Hurt, sadness, anger… especially anger. He was furious. How could his own partner play him for a fool! His grip on the gun tightened so much that the handle could warp in his grasp.

Joshua gazed at him with an almost lazy look. He had essentially won. _This one's in the bag_, he thought to himself. _After I deal with these pesky Players, I can bid goodbye to useless Shibuya forever._

"Four… Five…"

Neku seemed to be hesitating. He still hadn't lifted his gun yet, instead hiding burning eyes behind sweaty orange bangs.

"Seven… Eight… Neku, you really ought to get to aiming. Don't you want to win? …Your choice though. Hee hee."

_Oh well, it's been fun while it lasted. Goodbye, Neku. It's a true pity that it's come to this, but that's life._

BANG!

Suddenly, the ear-splitting crack of a gunshot ripped through the air. A bullet had been fired, squeezed out by the eager owner of the weapon with the intention to kill. And the bullet had met its unwilling target…

…Joshua.

Pain seared across his heart, spread throughout his every nerve like wildfire. His revolver fell out of his hand and onto the floor. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest in surprise. Beat and Shiki were similarly surprised. Neku actually shot him? He expected him to be too conflicted to pull the trigger, but he was strangely determined. Indeed, Neku's arm was outstretched towards Joshua, gun in his vice-like grip, smoke billowing out of the barrel.

It suddenly occurred to him that Neku had shot him before the countdown had even reached ten. The pain came before he could even finish pronouncing "nine".

There was neither blood nor a visible wound, but the damage had been done. His insides felt as though they had been run through an electric paper shredder. Joshua spluttered in outrage, "Neku! What… You… How could you…?"

"Sorry Josh," snorted Neku contemptuously. "Now that I understand everything, I can't afford to left you win. Shibuya's my city. Our city… and just because you're its Composer doesn't mean you have the right to do as you please."

The fallen Joshua winced both from his invisible but very real wound, and from the fact that he had lost the shootout, and thus his little Game with his ex-partner. His whole body was trembling from the shock; he had never been shot before, and this was the first time. It wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Despite this, he couldn't help but feel curious about Neku's words. "What do you mean… you 'understand everything'?"

Neku's face was cold and hardened as he stared him down. "If you want to know, I'll gladly tell you, scum. It's like this…"

XOXOXOXOXO

A few days earlier, while Neku and his then partner Beat were searching for the current Game Master Konishi to defeat, they came across Cat Street, where the popular coffee shack WildKat was located. It was the property of a Mr Sanae Hanekoma, an enigmatic man well into his forties, but few would know that he had a role in the Game as Producer – a sort of behind-the-scenes referee to see if things went right or wrong.

The two Players were shocked to find WildKat in a shambles with Mr Hanekoma nowhere in sight. But since they were here, they decided to continue their search; perhaps they might unearth something.

That was when Neku had a brainwave. His cell phone had the ability to take photos of the past – an upgrade kindly provided by Hanekoma himself – and this he used to snap some pictures, so he could see what had happened before the shop was trashed.

One photo stood out. In this one, Hanekoma was fiddling with a compartment at the back of the shop. He looked like he was hiding something inside it. Neku and Beat agreed that it was worth checking, and when they did, what they found was a treasure trove of miscellaneous items.

Among them was a revolver, its six chambers already loaded with bullets. The sight startled the boys a little. Why would good ol' Mr H keep a gun in the first place? For protection? But guns were illegal in Japan…

Included with the gun was a note, obviously written by him. Neku and Beat read it word for word…

_If anyone finds and reads this, then I assume you're going after the Composer. That's good to know. But time is running out so heed my words very carefully…_

_The Composer has recently developed a change of heart… and not in a good way. He is planning to do something horrible. He wants to end Shibuya's existence! As someone who loves and cherishes this city, I cannot allow that, and I'm sure you'd feel the same way too. That is why, even though he is my friend, I have decided to stop him. But I'm tied up and can't do anything on my own. So I need your help._

_Basically all you have to do is to kill him… although that's easier said than done. The gun that you find here has been modified by me to shoot bullets that can weaken and sap away the Composer's powers, eventually destroying him for good. Use this gun on him but be sure to aim right; you only have six bullets. One is enough to cripple him. A second bullet should end him._

_I understand it's a very risky, haphazard and stupid-sounding plan, but there is no choice. Find a chink in his armour and let him have it. This is the only way I could think of to put a stop to his madness._

_You wouldn't know who the Composer is just yet, but when the time comes, you will. Rest assured it's not me. Now hurry and do the right thing. Get rid of the Composer and save Shibuya! Its future rests in your hands._

"Aight, that's awesome, yo," snarled Beat, hefting the gun in his hands. "Now we can off the Composer with this an' I can be in charge."

Neku hung his head in deep thought, overwhelmed by all the information he was forced to take in. "But… who's the Composer? If it's really not Mr H, then who?"

"Aw, quit the analystical stuff! Le's just hold onto the gun. If Mr H is askin' for help, leas' we can do is this. Can't hurt anyway, right?"

"I guess so… Here, I'll take the gun." Beat handed the revolver over to Neku who stuffed it into his pocket. As they left the remains of the shop to continue on their quest, he couldn't stop mulling over Hanekoma's letter.

_I never thought Shibuya was in so much danger. I wonder who the Composer really is…? And can he really be that easily killed? With this gun? Well, if there's the slightest chance of us succeeding, it's worth a shot. But there are some loose holes that need filling… What exactly is the big picture here?_

XOXOXOXOXO

"So you see," said Neku, "between Mr Hanekoma's letter and your own words, I finally understand what's going on here. All the gaps have now been filled."

Joshua coughed terribly and his face grew paler than usual. "Then that gun you're holding… it's…!"

"Yes," said a different voice. "It's mine."

Everyone turned to the origin of the new voice. And who they saw… was Mr Hanekoma. Standing with his usual casual slouch, but with a grim expression on his face. A 'tch' of great annoyance was heard from Joshua.

"I see," he spat bitterly. "Neku must have switched your gun with the one I provided somehow. Very crafty."

"Because you're not in your usual Composer form, Joshua, your powers of precognition have been dampened greatly. I took the opportunity to create that gun in secret while you still didn't have the ability to realize it yet. I'm glad it worked out just fine."

"Sanae, I thought we're _friends._ What happened, huh? You were plotting behind my back to kill me. How's that for comradeship, huh?"

"Sorry for wrecking our friendship, Josh. We do go back a long while. But if you're going to erase Shibuya, I just can't tolerate that. None of us can. You'd be destroying the very thing everyone lives for!"

An angered Joshua temporarily forgot about Neku. "I don't care! Do you even understand the consequences of your actions, all of you! The stagnancy of Shibuya… it'll infect the other cities… the whole world will be ruined!"

"That's only what you think," countered Hanekoma. "Neku's right. You're too blinded by your worries that Shibuya will lag behind, that you failed to notice all the small but significant changes that have been happening all this while. If you had just paid attention you'd have known that your fears would be unfounded. And then… none of this would have to happen."

"Rrgh… Don't try to correct me, Sanae. I knew that what I was doing was the right thing. Well, you must be pretty darn proud of yourself, telling Neku to kill me. I hope you're happy."

Hunched over and gasping, the Composer never looked so pathetic. Neku could feel the ripples of energy that he was emanating and noticed that they were steadily growing weaker. In fact, Joshua's powers had now grown so weak that the binding spell that immobilized Beat and Shiki had dissipated. They were free.

"No one wants to destroy Shibuya," said Neku. "No one would even think of it. Only you. You freak."

Joshua looked like he wanted to counter with a retort, but shortness of breath forced him to give up. He had won the bet with the Conductor, but his little duel with Neku was over and he had lost. His time as Composer was reaching an end… and fast.

Hanekoma watched as Neku strolled up to Joshua, aiming his gun directly at his target's face. Guilt pounded at his mind. Joshua was a long-time friend and ally, so taking the decision to have him killed off was hard. He could only take solace in the fact that it was necessary for the survival of the city.

The revolver clicked in Neku's hand as he pulled the hammer down with his thumb, rotating a fresh chamber in line with the barrel. "I've never fired a gun before. Not like you, murderer. But at this range I wouldn't miss. So… any last words?"

Joshua looked up at the orange-haired boy with sunken eyes and skin stretched tightly across his sickly-looking face. He almost looked ten years older now… Even when he was close to his end, however, he couldn't suppress an amused grin, much to Neku's annoyance.

"What's so damn funny, Josh? !"

"Hee… hee… Well, you see, I was just thinking… that it was pretty brave of you to _cheat_ during our shootout. I guess you really have guts after all."

"Whatever."

"But a promise is a promise, Neku. I did say that if you win, you could do whatever you liked… I wouldn't deny you that privilege. And if it means killing me, then so be it. I've accepted that I've pretty much lost anyway."

"Don't think that's going to earn you any sympathy points."

Joshua managed a very weak chuckle that sounded more like a cough than anything. "Still, you're really going to shoot your own partner? How… How callous. Hee… hee…"

"Shut up! You're no partner of mine, and you're no friend either."

Neku stiffened his arm, pointing the gun directly at Joshua's forehead. Beat saw that he was going to shoot him, and looked away. Shiki grimaced and had to follow suit. They'd rather not see their friend ending someone's life, even if that someone was a cruel manipulator.

"This is it, Josh. You're finished."

Without attempting, without trying, he squeezed the trigger and a loud bang echoed across the room. Joshua's head flung backward brutally from the powerful point-blank impact of the bullet, snapping neck vertebrae in the process. As though in slow motion, his body sailed away for a short distance before clattering across the floor like a useless rag doll.

The whole room was silent except for the hiss of Neku's smoking gun. Brave enough to look at last, Beat slowly turned back to the scene and found Joshua lying on his back, lifeless and motionless. Shiki, however, refused to even set her eyes on his corpse, so frightened was she. Hanekoma waited with bated breath for any more life signs, and so did Neku. But when Joshua finally dissolved in a burst of white static and disappeared, there was a collective sigh of relief all around.

The Composer was finally gone. The crisis was over at last. Shibuya was safe.

"Neku," said Hanekoma with a tired smile, "thank you. Thank you so much. We're forever indebted to you for saving Shibuya."

As though a heavy weight had been lifted off of his mind, Neku slumped to his knees, unable to stand on his two feet any longer. He clutched his head, dizzy and moaning.

Shiki was the first to run over to his aid. "Neku! Are you okay? !"

"Yo, dude!" said Beat. "You alright, man? And, um… good work with the Composer… and stuff."

Neku muttered, "I don't get it."

"Huh?"

With a roar, he yelled, "I don't freaking get it! I'm told to trust my partner, but look what happened! One of the people I trusted the most turned out to be the worst possible person. This maniac… This… This hypocrite!" And then he broke down into tears, comforted only by the friends by his sides.

Hanekoma could only shake his head sadly. In all truth, he'd rather not have Neku bear a great and grave responsibility like this at such a tender young age. But it couldn't be helped as he was still hopelessly busy taking his own additional anti-Composer measures. Given the chance, he'd gladly be the one to shoot Joshua. Alas, things don't always turn out the way one would want them to.

Neku and his friends would never be the same again… especially Neku. They'd have to rely on their own inner strength to survive the harshness of the world now.

XOXOXOXOXO

Things would be very busy over the next few weeks in the UG. With Joshua gone, Hanekoma oversaw the Reapers' Game temporarily, making sure it ran properly until he could find suitable candidates for the Conductor and Composer positions. As promised, he had Neku and his friends reincarnated.

Today, they were alive and finally back in the world of the living.

"What's taking Neku so long?" wondered Shiki aloud.

Beat clutched the back of his neck. "I hope he's alright, yo."

Rhyme, who was his little sister, cocked her head in puzzlement. "What's the matter? Something wrong with Neku?"

Beat and Shiki exchanged knowing glances at each other and chose not to tell Rhyme the truth yet. Not at a supposedly joyous time like this… They were getting together for the first time, and they had chosen to meet up at, of course, the Statue of Hachiko.

"Well, maybe he's overslept?" said Shiki.

The truth, however, was that Neku was so traumatized by the entire incident at the end of the Reapers' Game that he couldn't bring himself to even get out of bed. He wanted to meet up with his friends, talk to them and have fun like normal teenagers do, but today… and probably for a good many days to come, he just didn't have the heart to see anyone.

Thanks to Mr Hanekoma's instructions and his foresight, Neku was able to allow Shibuya to carry on its merry way. But when he stopped to think about the actions he took, he came to realize a few terrible things.

First of all, both he and Joshua were now murderers. Like him, he had killed someone, and although his intent was dubiously virtuous, killing was still wrong. He could distance himself from this memory as much as he tried, but it would never leave him. It would be the ugly blotch on his psyche that could never be washed off.

Secondly, if even his partner could not be trusted, who was there to trust now? Was there anyone whom he could really say he trusted? Sure, there were his friends Shiki and Beat and Rhyme, but his terrible experience with Joshua made him constantly wary. Would they turn against him too? He tried to think that they would never do such a thing, but he couldn't stop that feeling of dread from resurfacing every now and then.

Thirdly, what exactly was the meaning of Joshua's words? Why did he say that Shibuya would "poison" the other cities and lead to a new world worse off than now? He couldn't notice anything wrong with today's society. But with him gone, there was no way Neku could get any answers. Did Neku actually do the right thing?

He buried his head into his pillow and started weeping anew. This was his new fate. He was a hero, a saviour of Shibuya. But he was a shattered man, now and forever.


End file.
